Filled with stunningly beautiful examples of Mandala and other sacred art and related objects from museums throughout the world, this book is a rare treasure. It offers thorough and detailed explanations of how mandalas relate to the dharma, as well as Buddhist symbols such as chakras, channels, the cosmos, and many other concepts rooted in the human soul and psyche.
Tantric Buddhism views the mandala as an allegory and symbol of the totality of humankind and the cosmos, and practitioners use it in meditations designed to lead to enlightenment. Numerous illustrations of mandalas, drawings, and figures describe it structurally and elucidate this complex form of Tantric practice in understandable terms.
This book by Martin Brauen is an updated and extensively expanded edition of his 1992 publication, which has long been out of print, and is regarded as one of the most comprehensive works on the mandala. This publication contains texts, illustrations, and tables that provide manifold approaches to and interpretations of this sacred symbol. It is destined to become a classic.